Pseudotropheus likomae "Likoma Island"

Likoma Islandlee-KOH-mah EYE-land (approx.)

The fish

How this cichlid is built, and everything about how it lives, eats and breeds, is shared with the species — this page doesn't repeat it.

Read the full Pseudotropheus likomae account →

Specific to Likoma Island

  • Collection locality & coordinates
  • Local coloration — best judged from the living-fish photo
  • Kept as a single-provenance line, never crossed with other collection points

Care facts below are the species' — shared with Pseudotropheus likomae.

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4 in10 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth3–49 ft1–15 m
DietAufwuchs grazer (algae/diatoms bitten from rock; genus-typical, not species-confirmed)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)not documented for this species; expected modest (a few dozen eggs)
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical expectation of more strongly coloured breeding males vs. duller, cryptic females; specific colour scheme not confirmed here.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Likoma Island population

Pseudotropheus likomae "Likoma Island" is the Likoma Island population of Pseudotropheus likomae, a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the central part of the lake. It is the same species as Pseudotropheus likomae, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Likoma Island fish at malawi.si

About the species

Pseudotropheus likomae is a rock-dwelling mbuna named directly for its home ground — Likoma Island, a large island in the far northern reaches of Lake Malawi that lies within Malawian territorial waters despite sitting close to the Mozambican shore. It is documented from Likoma Island itself and nearby Ndomo Point, a pairing of localities that reflects the tight, reef-bound distributions typical of mbuna, whose populations rarely cross even short stretches of open sand between rocky outcrops.

Full Pseudotropheus likomae account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Pseudotropheus likomae "Likoma Island"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Species search (California Academy of Sciences; authority for valid names)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)